The sound that rang throughout the forest.

  For Roan the 12th squad had a special meaning.

  The first squad he got to command since he returned to the past.

  Because of that, each and every person was too precious.

  “Violin! I won’t leave you alive!”


  Roan stood up.

  The other squad members also arrived late.

  “Lander!”


  “Ah………”


  “Ho, how could this………”


  They were speechless at the miserable sight.

  The ones that had a weak heart like Keep and Glenn were already shedding tears.

  Roan carefully gave Lander’s head to Austin.

  “Austin. Retreat along with the squad members.”


  At those words, Austin got a hold of himself.

  “What are you going to do?”


  Roan replied shortly and charged forward.

  “I will cut the neck of Violin for Lander’s sake.”


  His sight followed Violin who was hidden in the white smoke.

  She had lost her direction because of the smoke that blocked her sight and was moving towards the fire path.

  It seemed like she didn’t even know who she had slain.

  ‘Dog like b*tch! I will offer your head to Lander.’


  Roan hid himself in the smoke like that.

  “You can’t! We are already near the fire. It’s dangerous!”


  “Sir adjutant! It’s dangerous!”


  The 12th squad called out Roan late and tried to stop him.

  But they couldn’t hear Roan’s voice anymore.

  “Damn!”


  Austin kicked the ground.

  As he couldn’t see well, he couldn’t move as he wished.

  In the end he could only follow Roan’s order.

  He looked at Lander’s corpse that was on the ground.

  “Ah……”


  A low exclamation came out from between his lips.

  It’s been 8 years since they roamed the battlefield together.

  In that time, many comrades died.

  But it was the first time he felt this heavy.

  “Stupid bastard.”


  Austin kneeled in front of Lander’s corpse.

  “What kind of crazy bastard yells like that on a battlefield. Huh? Who shouts like that!”


  He hit Lander’s chest and cried.

  “You bastard! You said you wanted to wear the adjutant badge! That you wanted to shut me up after you became one!”


  Austin couldn’t hold it and in the end, tears came out.

  “Kugh.”


  “Kuk.”


  The other squad members also ground their teeth and their eyes reddened.

  Pierce, who usually lacked a way to express his emotions, wiped off his tears and mumbled.

  “Damn. Because of the smoke……… Kuk.”


  But he couldn’t hide the crying sound that came out from his voice.

  “Uhhhhhhhh.”


  “Kuhhhh.”


  Keep and Glenn couldn’t hold it anymore and started to cry loudly.

  They remembered the sight of Lander who liked to smile and talk.

  < After this battle ends, let’s have a proper squad meal. >

  The words he spoke before going to battle.

  Pierce forcefully gulped down the tears and shook his head.

  “What fun is a meal without Lander……”


  Sorrow denser than smoke filled the forest.

  Today, they didn’t lose a comrade, but a piece of their hearts.

  *****

  Tadadak. Tadak.

  The sound of the fire eating the trees was clear.

  A red flame.

  In the middle of that, there was Violin.

  “Only now can I see well.”


  She looked in front of her and smiled ill-naturedly.

  As she ran while evading the white smoke, she was soon in the middle of the fire.

  Maybe it was because of the fire, but the smoke that covered her eyes became faintly dispersed.

  “I will have to cut off your neck.”


  The owner of the cold voice was Roan.

  He slowly breathed out and calmed himself down.

  “The one that died right now was your underling?”


  “Lander. That was his name.”


  Roan spoke coldly and bit his lips.

  Violin smiled faintly and nodded.

  “As I couldn’t see in front, I cut off the neck of the one that talked loudly. I wondered what would I do if it was you. Because you don’t die that easily.”


  She pointed at the fire spreading because of the wind.

  “Isn’t this the best place to die together?”


  Violin thought up of the death of her husband again and was filled with madness once more.

  “Together? It’s certain that you are a crazy b*tch.”


  Roan pointed at Violin with his spear.

  The fire gulped down the trees at the sides and shook.

  Even so, Roan and Violin didn’t react at all.

  ‘Once again, i’m seeing the effects of Brent ring.’


  Thanks to one of the ring’s abilities, that was temperature regulation, he felt warm even when he was in the middle of a fire path.

  ‘But of course, it’s not that my skin is fine.’


  Brent’s ring only regulated your temperature, it didn’t block the heat entirely.

  If the fire became fiercer than now, there was a high possibility that he would get burnt.

  In the other side, Violin couldn’t feel the heat because of the madness.

  In one sentence, she became really crazy

  “Kuk! I will kill you first and follow you back.”


  Srung.

  Violin laughed strangely and unsheathed her blade.

  Tadadak. Tadadak.

  For a while, only the sound of burning trees was heard.

  Swuk.

  Then, a spark flew between Roan and Violin.

  The spark was precisely in between their sights.

  Tat!

  The two of them charged forward just like they had agreed beforehand.

  Cheng! Checheng! Cheng!

  The final battle started in the fire along the sound of metal clashing.

  “Kuk!”


  “Kugh!”


  Roan’s and Violin’s attacks continued without stopping.

  Once the battle started, the surrounding fire didn’t affect them at all.

  The two only focused on each other.

  They lightly ignored the spark that fell on their armour.

  Spat!

  Violin’s blade slightly cut off Roan’s shoulder.

  ‘She’s a monster.’


  Roan looked at Violin and ground his teeth.

  Her body was shining in red because of the attack she suffered from Pierce.

  She had lost a lot of blood.

  But even so, her movements were no different from usual.

  No, rather it seemed like her movements were faster and stronger.

  When he was facing her, he got the feeling that she resembled a mad warrior.

  ‘I can’t get pushed like this.’


  Roan quickly turned around and stabbed with his spear.

  “Hmph!”


  Violin snorted and swung her blade.

  Then, the spear moved faintly like it was dancing, and it’s trajectory changed.

  “Kuk!”


  Violin ground her teeth and pulled her blade back, but it was too late.

  Stab.

  The spear pierced her left shoulder.

  “Kugh!”


  However it wasn’t a complete success.

  Violin grabbed the spear with her left hand.

  Roan stabbed the spear with all of his strength, but it didn’t move an inch.

  Violin’s strength was that amazing.

  Even after that, Violin’s and Roan’s attacks continued without even one inch of concession.

  Cheng! Checheng! Cheng!

  The sound of metal clashing without stopping.

  Kugung. Boom.

  The trees that fell without being able to hold the fire.

  The heat of the battle became hotter with many meanings.

  “Die!”


  “Die!”


  The blade and spear swung with all their strengths.

  Cheng!

  Sparks flashed along with the sound of metal.

  Tat!

  In the end Roan and Violin distanced themselves.

  “Pant. Pant. Pant.”


  Roan was almost out of breath.

  His shoulders, chest, abdomen and thighs were filled with big and small holes.

  “Haa. Haa.”


  Violin was also exhausted.

  It had also been a while since the madness that made her forget her nature disappear.

  On top of that, her injuries were worse than Roan’s.

  You could see many deep wounds.

  They exchanged sights.

  ‘Let’s end this now.’


  ‘This is the last one.’


  Even if they didn’t say anything, they understood each other.

  Boom. Boooom.

  The flames were already near them.

  Even if they wanted to keep fighting, they couldn’t.

  Roan and Violin took in a deep breath and charged forward.

  Spat!

  Roan’s spear sliced Violin’s shoulder.

  “Kukh.”


  Violin’s movements were also dull as she was exhausted.

  She just confronted him and swung her blade.

  Roan ground his teeth and twisted his body.

  Slash.

  The old armor got cut off cleanly.

  Not only that, but his clothes and flesh also got cut quite deeply.

  ‘Kugh.’


  Roan ground his teeth.

  It wasn’t to the point where he couldn’t endure it.

  He turned around quickly and swung his spear.

  Violin pulled the blade without even showing that she wanted to dodge and blocked the spear.

  Cheng!

  The spear used the rebound and spun to the other side.

  ‘Let’s end it with this.’


  Roan was planning to execute the 7th stance of Pierce’s spearmanship, no, Roan’s spearmanship.

  It was the strongest one amongst the ones he could execute in his current state.

  ‘Hph!’


  He took in a deep breath.

  Muscles on both of his arms swelled up.

  Spat!

  The spear head cut through the wind.

  The body of the spear widely shook to the sides.

  ‘Damn!’


  Violin looked at the spear that moved gorgeously to the point it made her dizzy and bit her lips.

  Because the spear swayed too widely, she couldn’t be certain if it was aiming for her right or for her left.

  “Uaaahap!”


  Violin cried out loudly and swung her blade.

  THen.

  Tung!

  The spear hit the air with a heavy sound as if it got bounced off.

  The spear evaded the blade and cut into her left side.

  ‘Kuk!’


  A movement she hadn’t expected at all.

  Violin twisted her body all she could and swung her blade.

  But the movement of the spear was much faster than what she expected.

  Stab.

  The blade of the spear got stabbed into her side.

  ‘It has ended.’


  Roan felt the heavy feeling transmitted to the end of his hands and let out a long sigh.

  Then Violin swung her blade widely and cut off the spear.

  Stab.

  The strong spear got cut off cleanly.

  ‘Damn!’


  Roan fell back and had a surprised expression.

  ‘When we battled on the plains, a crack appeared on the body of the spear.’


  The part where it was a bit broken when it faced against the blade.

  Violin looked for that place and broke it in two in an instant.

  “Kuk.”


  She grabbed the spear stabbed in her side and staggered.

  It must certainly feel nasty and painful, but there was a smile on her face.

  “It seems like I won this battle. You are empty handed but I have my blade.”


  Violin swung her blade.

  Roan threw the short body of the spear and shook his head.

  “I wonder. We have yet to see that.”


  He brought his hand to his waist.

  He touched the long steel stick with the tip of his hands.

  ‘Travias spear.’


  The spear he couldn’t use in the Pedian’s plain battle because he didn’t have mana.

  But in this situation, this was the only weapon he could use.

  Violin looked at that and sneered.

  “Kuk! You will fight with that small piece of metal?”


  She shook her head and moved towards Roan.

  “Let’s go to hell together with me.”


  Violin bit her lower lips tightly and swung her blade.

  As she still had the spear stabbed in her side, her movements were really slow and unnatural.

  Swush.

  Roan barely dodged her blade and stabbed his Travias spear towards her neck.

  “Hmph!”


  Violin snorted and grabbed the piece of metal with her left hand.

  Roan tried to pierce more with all his strength but it didn’t move at all.

  “Do you think you will be able to kill me with this metal stick?”


  The tip of the metal stick touched Violin’s chin.

  Roan smiled faintly and nodded.

  “If it’s this much, I can kill you plentily.”


  “What?”


  Violin frowned.

  Just how could this piece of metal, where the end was blunt, be able to kill her!

  Then, Roan’s voice was heard.

  “Grab there tightly.”


  “What did you say?”


  At the words she didn’t know the meaning of, Violin frowned.

  Then, Roan twisted his wrist and turned the tip of the stick hard.

  Kigigi.

  A displeasing sound.

  The end of the spear criss crossed and turned to the sides with the sound of oxidized metal turning.

  “Huh?”


  Violin opened her eyes roundly at the stick in her hands that was changing.

  “Greet Sedek for me.”


  Roan’s farewell.

  At the same time.

  Click.

  The tip of the spear separated with the sound of sawtooths went in gear.

  Cheeng.

  A sharp blade surged up along with a clear sound of metal.

  Stab.

  The blade passed through Violin’s chin and pierced her head.

  “Grrrrrr.”


  The expression of Violin as if she couldn’t believe it.

  She fell to the ground.

  “Whew……”


  Roan also let out a long sigh and staggered for a moment.

  The feeling of all his strength leaving his body.

  ‘She was a strong opponent.’


  She was one of the strongest opponents he had faced until now.

  ‘I have to quickly learn mana.’


  If he didn’t do so, situations where he will have it hard with only an orc commander will keep repeating.

  Tadadadak. Boom. Kung.

  Then, the surrounding trees fell because of the flames.

  ‘I will have to get out of here for now.’


  Roan pulled out the Travias spear and cut off Violin’s head.

  She still had her eyes open.

  ‘I will offer your head to Lander.’


  Roan ground his teeth.

  At the same time, he moved his steps while looking at the burning flames.

  Kugugugung.

  Then, on the place he left, trees started to fall and flames took its place.

  *****

  The battle ended in a complete victory.

  Violin’s troop got annihilated, and the losses of rose troop and blackbird’s troop were minimal.

  However on the faces of Gale, the adjutants and the soldiers happiness couldn’t be seen for their victory.

  They all looked at Riten forest with anxious looks.

  Boom. Kugung.

  The trees falling because of the fire.

  And the amazing smoke that is continued by that.

  “Ah……”


  “Sir adjutant Roan.”


  “Please, you have to be safe………”


  They were still waiting for Roan who couldn’t get out of the forest until now.

  Now, Riten forest was completely enveloped by flames.

  Then, Pierce walked to the front.

  “I can’t hold it anymore. I will go in.”


  At those words Austin put a surprised expression and grabbed him.

  “What are you doing!”


  “Then are you telling me to just stand still and watch! I will go in and bring sir adjutant Roan!”


  Pierce’s yell.

  At those words the 12th squad ground their teeth.

  “Won’t it be fine if we pour water on ourselves?”


  “We will also go in.”


  The members of the 12th squad were taking the lead on each other by saying that they would get inside the fire.

  At that look Gale, the adjutants and the other soldiers let out a low exclamation.

  ‘The comradeship of the 12th squad is amazing.’


  ‘He has good subordinates.’


  Then, Austin that was stopping the others, pointed at Riten forest.

  “Huh?!”


  A really surprised expression.

  Everyone turned their heads and looked at Riten forest.

  “Ah……”


  A low exclamation came out from the mouth of everyone.

  The place where their sights gathered.

  The youth they longed for that much showed himself in front of the entrance.

  The youth who was releasing hot steam while being covered in blood was Roan.

  “Sir adjutant Roan!”


  “Sir!”


  The squad members all ran towards Roan.

  Roan raised Violin’s head towards them.

  “I bought a gift for Lander.”


  He looked hopeless, but he still had strength in his voice.

  The squad members looked like they would cry at any moment.

  They didn’t say anymore.

  They just hugged themselves with the heat.

  End

  Translator: Subak

  Proofreader: Vape_Lupe